The invention relates to a high-pressure fuel pump with a housing and a swash plate which is mounted in the housing and is arranged in an oil space of the housing, and with a drive shaft which is connected to the swash plate and passes through a housing opening, and with a seal for the drive shaft, which seal is mounted in the housing in the region of the housing opening, wherein the high-pressure fuel pump has a plurality of pump elements for sucking up, compressing and ejecting fuel, which pump elements can be acted upon consecutively by means of the rotating swash plate.
Pump arrangements having a low-pressure pump and a high-pressure pump are used in motor vehicles, in particular passenger vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump is arranged in the fuel tank and conveys fuel to a high-pressure fuel pump which supplies fuel at a pressure of generally greater than 100 bar to combustion spaces of an internal combustion engine. Said high-pressure fuel pump is generally connected to a cylinder head of the internal combustion engine and is driven by means of the camshaft of the internal combustion engine.
DE 698 22 698 T2, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a high-pressure fuel pump with the features of the type already mentioned. In this case, the oil poured into the oil space constitutes a lifetime filling, and therefore the oil is not changed during the lifetime of the high-pressure fuel pump.
However, said high-pressure fuel pump has components which are subject to wear. In particular, abrasion of metallic, iron-containing particles of bearing elements of the swash plate and other optionally used elements, such as springs and sliding blocks, can be noted during the operation designed for the lifetime of the high-pressure fuel pump. Over the lifetime, an increasing and therefore cumulative accumulation of iron-containing particles arises. The particles pass, for example, into the bearings, and therefore the wear thereof is increased, and continue into the region of the seal for the drive shaft, thus increasing the risk of a loss of oil. This may lead to the pump no longer functioning, and therefore the calculated lifetime of the high-pressure fuel pump is not reached.
DE 197 09 781 A1, which is incorporated by reference herein, describes a fuel separator in which the flow passages of the separator are each provided with a magnet.
DE 103 27 408 A1, which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a pressure damper within a high-pressure fuel pump, said pressure damper being provided with a diaphragm and a housing which, as an alternative, may be formed magnetically.
In addition, DE 39 07 317 A1, which is incorporated by reference herein, describes a fuel tank, on the bottom of which a plurality of magnets are provided. As an alternative, a plurality of magnets are provided within the fuel filter.